We Hear You! Letters from Our April 2012 Issue

The answer is that you speak to ME, me as I am now, not the younger version of 40 or even 20 years ago. I read the magazine from cover to cover in less than two days, and this is not unusual. I found all the articles interesting, and some, such as “The Caregiver Chronicles,” profoundly moving. One of your readers felt that the articles in the April issue were too long. To me they seemed just right—long enough to do justice to the material. Your tagline reads “For Women of Style & Substance.” Your magazine also has substance, for it feeds the intellect and soul as well as your readers’ inner model, fashionista or whatever.

My only request is that you also include the 70s in your “decade articles.” However, whether you do or don’t, I look forward to reading your magazine for many years.
—Kay Henderson, South Lake Tahoe, CA

I found your letter from the editor “My Slow-Down Secrets” particularly poignant. As I head toward my 45th birthday this summer, just about everything you wrote resonated with me. So much so that I read it to my high school freshman son to show him that some of what I talk about is shared by others in my position. Indeed I am not crazy.

I didn’t expect to begin crying as I reread aloud “The bassinet migrates to a dusty corner of the basement to be passed along.” But my son is used to my tears that come not just from sadness at the fact that he and his brother (H.S. junior) are growing so fast but also from powerful moments of truth. Wanting to slow down, to appreciate the moment and be present to this glorious life I have is an ongoing goal. As I got to the end of your letter, my son asked again what the title of the magazine was, and when I told him “More,” he asked, “Shouldn’t it be ‘Enough’?” I appreciate that a magazine that essentially promises “More” also encourages its readers to breathe deeply in “Enough.” Thank you.
—Suzanne Ostersmith

I just finished flipping through the April issue of More while things were slow at the office. I really enjoyed the memoir on page 124, “The Caregiver Chronicles.” It made me smile and cry at the same time. I too have a difficult relationship with my mother, Rita. She is not quite as elderly as Irene Graham and was never very glamorous, but the story got to me on a visceral level.

Please send my appreciation to Barbara Graham. I love the way she presented the love for each other that she and her mother were so very lucky to find.
—Marty Keane, New York

I love the magazine; it is a great fit for where I am in life. However, the repeated use of the phrase “the woman who has it all” to characterize Ms. Margulies made me angry enough to write. A woman (or a man) who works 16 hours a day, even at a lucrative job that she loves, and doesn’t spend time with her small child does NOT have it all. No reflection on the cover subject, but a very bad choice of words on the writer’s part.
—Linda DeRosett

Please tell Sandy Summers that Nurse Jackie is one of the worst programs about nursing that I have seen (“A Real Nurse Rates the TV Fakes”). The character is a drug addict, cheats on her husband and has sex with the hospital pharmacist who supplies her drug habit. Does Summers advocate supporting a show that involves a nurse working while under the influence of drugs? Do you think that the nurse is able to make sound clinical judgments and take care of patients safely?
—Suzanne Coste

I love your magazine. However, the articles in the April issue, while all great subjects, were way too long. I didn’t finish any of them.
—Lori Kash

Re “Look-Great-for-Your-Age Makeup in your 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s”:

What happened to the 70s? I am a 70-year-young gal, with plenty of zip and sparkle. I exercise every day for 30 minutes, in addition to doing Yoga and Pilates. I write a column for a local paper and have a small consulting business from home. I may be retired from my usual occupation; however, I have not retired from life.

Share Your Thoughts!

Comments

"Broke but no Broken" / May 2012
Upon reading Corbyn Hightower's piece lamenting her family's loss of a five figure per month income, I have to say I'm dismayed, for both her and for all of us.
Ten years ago as I recovered from illness, my daughter and I lived on a fixed SSI income of $500 per month. We had no television, could not afford to eat outside of our kitchen, but subsidized housing make it possible for us to live in a not-so-pretty, but safe neighborhood and afford the use of public transit.
Four years later and recovered, I was able to secure a better job, move to a larger apartment in a very nice neighborhood where we could have afforded to own a car, but instead opted to keep our lifestyle simple and use transit and a car sharing option available to us. We lived very well on $2,000 a month and counted ourselves fortunate and happy.
Two years ago a very close friend went through a job loss similar to Ms. Hightowers and lamented that she could no longer maintain a $5,000 per month lifestyle as a single person.
I do not understand why Americans feel they have a right to complain so loudly about the loss of decadent, excessive lifestyles while others live with hunger and want, or simply find contentment with just enough. Perhaps the economic losses some of us are experiencing now are destiny teaching us a valuable less that may result in actual happiness that is earned, not purchased.

Going back over some back issues I discovered I did not read the article Hillary's Secret Weapon. Not only did I see Hillary in a new light, I discovered a new writer. I like Lisa DePaul's style of writing. I hope to be reading more of her articles from here on out in your magazine. Please pass this on that to her as well. Thank you.
Marcia Lobby Lee

I will keep this months issue because of the Making Time for What Matters. The articles by the four women are good to go back to on a regular basis. My favorite line was, "This is a silly way to spend a lovely life."

I have never written to a magazine before, but as I finished reading the story of Hillary Clinton I have to comment. What an outstanding story about our Secretary of State! Not only did it capture what Ms Clinton is trying to do for women's rights, and how hard she works for this cause, but also it captured the essence of the person she is. How refreshing to read such a positive article. Thank you More magazine for showing us so much More about Hillary than we ever knew.

I'm a huge fan of your magazine, but lately it seems like I'm reading Glamour, not a magazine targeted to women my age. Julianna Margulies is lovely, but to put her on the cover over Hillary Clinton? I simply can't wrap my mind around that particular decision. When you think of substance, who could be more substantive than Hillary Clinton? Bad choice, More!

I just finished Barbara Graham's magnificent memoir in the April issue of More and wanted to write in appreciation. The essay was so beautifully written, which in and of itself is a gift; but in addition, the subject was so sensitively handled. I suspect that I related intimately to the essay because I moved my difficult mother near me for five years before she died. She was not elegant or wealthy, like Ms. Graham's mother, but she took great pains with her appearance and we had our many years of a difficult relationship. It is 9 years since she passed away, and I think of her all the time, with affection and, yes, with love.
Thank you so much for such a moving memoir,
Judith Ruderman
Durham NC

Over 15 years ago, as a mother of two young boys, I remember the routine of meeting and striking up casual conversations with other mothers in our Danforth-area schoolyard as we waited for our children to finish their activities and meander their way home with us. There was a mother I particularly remember, for her smile, her style, her smarts, and for her beautiful daughter, who had Down Syndrome. I remember being inspired by her and thinking, “Wow – there’s someone who’s really got it together. She’s a successful writer who works at home, and a mother who is therefore available to tend to her daughter and give her the support she needs, and it’s obviously all working – I have never seen her, or her daughter, without smiles on their faces.”
While we moved from the neighbourhood many years ago, I was always excited to come across Madeleine Greey’s published articles from time to time, and was especially thrilled to hear that her daughter – who was in my son’s elementary classes – achieved success as an actress.
While Madeleine would never remember me, I continued to feel that I knew her somewhat, and that’s why it shocked and saddened me so much to read her article on her husband’s passing.
I’d like to pass my deepest condolences onto you and your family, Madeleine, and hope that your strength and positive attitude help smooth your road.
Liina Kerk-Tedesco